Carl is right. And nobody knows where they will end up in their careers
either, so all the basic skills are necessary. You might even get bored
after working for some years in one kind of record office and find the need
for restimulation by wanting to move elsewhere. And that;'s when your basic
training and skills acquired later come in. Believe me!
Len McDonald
----- Original Message -----
From: Boardman, Carl - Cultural Services <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, November 28, 2002 9:15 AM
Subject: Why, oh why?
> Hmm - I'm not sure Peter Emmerson's strictures don't apply to all of us,
> perhaps even himself. At times like this, the profession does seem to be
> split between those who are firmly based in our traditional core
activities
> and regard everything else as secondary, and those whose choice of
archives
> as a career seems surprising in view of the fact that they regard
> non-electronic records as being of no real interest. In fact, I'm sure the
> vast majority of us, including Peter and Nick, regard both areas as being
of
> equal importance but on a day-to-day basis we do have our own views on
what
> is being neglected. No one in Oxfordshire County Council can have any
doubt
> about my commitment to e-records and information management strategies -
> indeed I think most of them wish I'd shut up about it - but just at the
> moment it seems to me that traditional archive skills are being thrown out
> in the rush to show how technologically adept we are. That may say more
> about where I'm standing than about a global view - and where I'm standing
> is in a record office where, at 8.25 this morning, I was met at the door
by
> a member of staff asking about mediaeval borough charters. In an English
> county record office you need to be able to read them; it's as simple as
> that.
>
> Incidentally I'm quite sure you can set up an archive service and do
> brilliant work on theory and development without a word of Latin or the
> ability to read anything that isn't in Times Roman, but I don't think you
> could run a good public service or catalogue adequately in an English CRO
> environment that way. It's not the same job.
>
> Carl Boardman
> Oxfordshire Record Office
>
> Oxfordshire Record Office is a section of Cultural Services in Oxfordshire
> County Council. This message is intended only for the addressee, and OCC
can
> take no responsibility for the accuracy of the information contained
> therein, nor should the message be held as having any legal validity.
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